Last Updated on October 28, 2024 by Ellen
We celebrated our first month at our temporary home during the coronavirus pandemic.
We have no idea how long we might be here in Malay, Aklan, on Panay Island, or how long we will be in the Philippines. But we sure are glad we are here!
For 30 days, we have posted every day about our Philippine Quarantine in this crazy new reality of masks, social distancing, lockdowns and border closings. Yet, in some ways, it hardly feels like a few weeks. And we are so lucky our “enhanced community quarantine” boundaries include the beach and a nearby large garden.
We were also lucky to get a homemade cake.
Chocolate cake on quarantine
Today was the start of our second month. To celebrate, I swung the pickax in the garden to loosen dirt to lift tree stumps, swam in the sea twice, hand-washed our sheets, tried to be helpful to someone having a technical issue, enjoyed fresh and juicy fruit, tried to figure out some back-end stuff with this blog, ate a delicious healthy dinner of chicken and beans and cole slaw, and fed pork scraps to the owner’s dogs.
And: the Hangout Beach Resort owner, who is also our friend, brought us a homemade chocolate cake! Pictured above with our grinning faces.
Such irony! This morning, my mom (Linda) sent me a picture of a chocolate cake that she made for her quiet, social-distanced lockdown birthday celebration on Long Island, New York. I love chocolate – and chocolate cake. She’ll enjoy it with my dad, and plans to leave slices at neighbors’ doorsteps.
Happy birthday, Mom!
I certainly never dreamed we’d have a homemade chocolate cake of our own – on the same day – during quarantine in the Philippines!
I relished each moist, chocolately bite in my large slice. It made me a little ‘high’. I turned to Mom Diane to comment how great that had been, and she was licking the plate! Clearly she enjoyed it as well. And we have enough to enjoy for days to come. (I don’t know how Tedly doesn’t want any…)
You already saw our cake, above. But here it is again!
The homemade cake is for sale in the future, and I foresee us buying one now and then from the owner’s talented baker friend.
OK, enough with the chocolate cake… but it goes to show: the simple things can mean so darn much. Things we often take for granted in our lives “before” the pandemic.
COVID-19 update in our area
The enhanced community quarantine seems to be working. There are only seven cases detected. Today one was announced – a 26-year-old man who has gone to the province’s main coronavirus hospital. Authorities believe he got COVID-19 from community transmission because he had no history of travel or ill family members.
And the quarantine lockdown rules are in place through the end of April. What might happen after that? I do not know for certain. The local towns and provinces seem to follow Manila’s lead.
But I do know the monsoon season is June to early October. And sometimes May is a transition month from wet to dry season. So I’ll simply enjoy the relentless sunshine and sea breezes, the colorful sunsets, and any other simple pleasures that come my way (like chocolate cake!) because: Life is Now.
My great-grandmother used to love to make cakes. The running joke in the family was that if the cake was not fine-grained and moist, we’d have to give it to the church.
The cake you pictured looks like another cake the church won’t be getting! ?
Teddy was able to refuse because cake doesn’t pair well with beer.
Somehow, it was even better on day two 😉 and Tedly doesn’t know what he’s missing.
I’m just so happy you had Chocolate Cake!!!
I’m happy you had it, too! xo